Publish El-Wak recruitment stampede probe report – Akosua Manu demands a year after tragedy

The Advisor on Gender and Social Protection to the Office of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) 2028 flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Akosua Manu, has called on the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to publish the findings of its Board of Inquiry into the El-Wak Stadium recruitment stampede, a year after the tragedy claimed six lives.

The incident occurred on November 12, 2025, during the military's 2025/2026 recruitment exercise, when thousands of applicants gathered at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra.

The stampede left six young women dead and several others injured, with victims rushed to the 37 Military Hospital for emergency treatment.

In a social media post on Thursday, November 12, marking the first anniversary of the tragedy, she questioned the transparency surrounding the investigation and the extent to which the government had fulfilled its commitments to the victims and their families.

She said the public deserved to know the findings of the military's investigation and demanded that the institution account for the support promised to the bereaved families and survivors.

“Yet a year later, real questions remain about how fully those promises have been fulfilled, and more critically, why the findings of the military’s Board of Inquiry have still not been transparently published for the public,” she wrote.

The advisor also urged the Ghana Armed Forces to acknowledge the institutional failures that led to the tragedy, honour its commitments to the affected families and ensure that measures are implemented to prevent a recurrence.

She further expressed concern over the loss of the six young women, who had attended the recruitment exercise in pursuit of employment and an opportunity to serve the country.

“A country must never become a place where young people lose their lives simply because they are looking for an opportunity to earn a living,” she wrote.

The government had earlier announced support measures for the affected families, including financial assistance, medical care for injured applicants and recruitment opportunities for qualified relatives of those who died.

Deputy Defence Minister Ernest Brogya Genfi announced in November 2025 that relatives of the deceased would be offered recruitment opportunities, while injured applicants would be automatically recruited once medically certified fit.